Mint Opposes Steel Cent Sought In New Bill

I guess W doesn't have any steel stock give a few day and maybe after he gets the stocks needed the bill will pass?

We all know he went in office with a large oil stocks.
maybe that way OPEC is getting over $105.00 per barrel?

I'm in the steel business.......and stock or no stock .....Dem. or Repub.....rich or poor.......steel is getting more expensive all of the time and harder to get and is affected by the world stage sadly...
Besides....I've got quite a few of the old "steel cents".....and I don't want a "modern" one to be made......in fact....keep the design and keep it made out of semi-precious metal please ! (go back to copper even !)

If they do that...try to make em' out of steel.....then why not go a step further and make our coins out of plastic (or something similar)? ...Then we could recycle the coinage more economically and practically!
Then we could "go green" with our coins too ! You could insulate your house with your pennies,etc. etc.
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AND, since the dollar is "devaluing".....LET'S CONTINUALLY SEE IF WE CAN DEVALUE OUR METAL IN THE COINS TOO ! Let's make them "cheaper" and cheapen their actual "melt value" anywhere we can as well !



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I think by steel they mean copper coated steel like the ones used in Canada, not the rust magnets made in 1943!

IIRC, Jarden Zinc makes the copper coated steel planchets for Canada as well as our copper coated zinc ones. The Mint would not even have to change suppliers! The question is, do they behave the same in vending machines, as required by the proposed legislation?

Jbuck--good info! I did not know that, but it explains why some foreign cent-sized Cu/Zn coins produced by the RCM look identical to our cent planchets (such as the Panama 1c)

I know for certain...somebody is going to have to change all those US Coinstar machines! But of course, there's a model used in Canada that might work in that case.

Oh for the love of God, would you politician-hating conspiracy theorists crawl back under a rock

There is no objection to actually changing to a copper-plated steel planchet, the problem is the wording of the bill contains impractical and limiting restrictions.

Thus, he said, "the Department and the United States Mint can support the "Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2008," but only if two specific objections ... are removed or addressed."

Those two objections:

" the provision mandating five years of consecutive losses because it deprives the United States Mint of needed flexibility to act as quickly.

" it addresses one denomination at a time based on the volatility of metal prices. The vending and coin handling industries would potentially have to repeatedly face costly changes denomination by denomination.

Moy's solution is to re-direct the problem and define a slightly different problem with a ready solution: "we need to consider the relationship of new materials for all of our coins. Regardless of the relationship between production costs and face value, any change in production processes or materials that lowers the cost to produce coinage saves the taxpayer money."

A third objection:

" the requirement that "mandates the production of one-cent coins made primarily of steel 180 days after the enactment of this legislation, without first obtaining any public input." Moy's rationale: that it "restricts the United States Mint's flexibility to ascertain and employ the most cost-effective material and production process time frame."

All told, Moy told the Committee that even changing the cent, in the Mint's view, would be time consuming. "The United States Mint anticipates a reasonable time frame to make these critical decisions to be 18 to 24 months to properly implement this mandate and do our part to bring a penny made primarily of steel to the marketplace."

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis...ticleId=3989

"The vending and coin handling industries would potentially have to repeatedly face costly changes denomination by denomination."

Somehow the vending industry in Canada managed OK.


"Oh for the love of God, would you politician-hating conspiracy theorists crawl back under a rock"

Oh, c'mon--let us have our fun! How serious do you take us to be? Then again, industry favoritism is not without its precedents. I do recall The Mint's Cu-Ni cent policy to benefit their chum Wharton's Nickel mining interests back in the mid-19C.

"...I wonder how long the current coins will circulate. Will these be hoarded or will the feds have them melted down?"

Given the current economic climate, I think the hoarding would be immediate, followed by a redemption policy. There's similarities to the 1860s-70s.

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it addresses one denomination at a time based on the volatility of metal prices. The vending and coin handling industries would potentially have to repeatedly face costly changes denomination by denomination.

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When was the last time any of you ever put or received a penny from a vending machine? 1960? I'm 27 and I can't ever remember doing it, unless you count the bucking bronco at the grocery stor that I used to ride for a penny... yeeeeeehaaaaaa!!

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"The vending and coin handling industries would potentially have to repeatedly face costly changes denomination by denomination."

Somehow the vending industry in Canada managed OK.

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Yes, but didn't Canada change from the copper and nickel based coinage to plated steel at the same time? This piece of legislation only authorizes the change for cents and excludes all other denominations. The fact that productions costs for the nickel(five cent coin) exceed face value has been ignored and if the bill passed as-is, another bill would need to be submitted for the nickel.

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Then again, industry favoritism is not without its precedents

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Hello, Bland-Allison Act